Far from being angered by Li Fan's shameless words, Huangfu Song actually looked rather impressed.
“Kid, when I first heard of your exploits, I thought you’d been possessed.
“By all accounts, you don’t seem to have much to do with concepts like ‘self-sacrifice’ or ‘selfless devotion to the public good.’
“Yet your deeds were witnessed by all and cannot be faked. It puzzled me for a long time.
“Today, with this one speech, you’ve completely dispelled the doubts in my mind.”
Huangfu Song studied Li Fan and gave a slight nod. “You, boy, are a ruthless one!”
Li Fan’s expression remained unchanged. “You flatter me, Senior! But what of this compensation?”
Huangfu Song patted his own belly and scoffed. “You just want to know where to go next to maximize your rank-climbing efficiency. There’s no need for all this roundabout talk.”
With that, he pointed a finger toward Li Fan.
Instantly, information detailing the construction status of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Arrays in the vast majority of the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s territories, along with the corresponding lists of array masters, flooded Li Fan’s vision. It was densely packed and exhaustive, leaving no detail out.
It not only marked each array master’s current ranking on the golden leaderboard but also thoughtfully included predictions on each participant’s future ranking.
Huangfu Song said smugly, “This is the newly circulated top-secret list from yesterday. Though the points will have changed again after a day, it’s definitely still useful as a reference.
“An ordinary person would have to pay a pretty price just to catch a glimpse of this.”
Li Fan swiftly scanned the contents of the list.
A moment later, he frowned slightly.
Huangfu Song observed Li Fan’s expression and asked, somewhat puzzled, “What? Still not satisfied, Li boy?”
“Senior Huangfu, certain places seem to be missing from this list?” Li Fan inquired, his gaze sharp.
“Missing? Absolutely impossible! My list...”
Before Huangfu Song could finish his rebuttal, Li Fan cut him off. “What about the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens?”
Huangfu Song froze on the spot.
Then he heard Li Fan continue. “As the very spark that ignited the war between the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council in Tianling Province back then, and now a primary source of countless materials for the Alliance—such an important place surely wouldn’t be excluded from the coverage of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Arrays, would it?
“And what about the Boundless Sea—the holy land every cultivator dreams of visiting, where a single crossing can bring one to the very peak of their realm? Why isn’t it on the list either?”
“Stellar Axis Plain, Chronolith Celestial Realm...”
“Though I may be ignorant and ill-informed, I have still heard of these regions.”
To conceal his true objective, Li Fan rattled off a string of secretive, crucial locations.
These were all places Li Fan had learned about from browsing classified documents. He had never actually visited them. Now was the perfect time to trot them out to create confusion.
“You know quite a lot, kid.” Despite being exposed by Li Fan, Huangfu Song’s expression did not show the slightest abnormality.
After muttering to himself for a moment, Huangfu Song then said seriously, “Let me be blunt. You know the importance of these places. It’s simply impossible for outsiders to casually set foot in them.
“That’s right, constructing arrays in these locations does indeed yield several times the contribution of ordinary regions.
“But the arrays there are all handled by specially assigned personnel. With no connections and no backing, you think a junior like you can sneak in and farm points? Don’t kid yourself.”
Huangfu Song shook his head repeatedly. “Look at all those people on the golden leaderboard. Are they not stronger than you? Yet can any of them manage it?
Faced with Huangfu Song’s lecturing, Li Fan was not disheartened. Instead, he seized the key point within his words.
“So what you mean is, as long as one has the connections and background, participating in array construction within those regions isn’t entirely impossible?” he asked thoughtfully.
Huangfu Song was momentarily rendered speechless at Li Fan’s peculiar line of thinking.
He was just about to voice a sarcastic retort when he saw the look of genuine contemplation on Li Fan’s face. For some reason, a sudden jolt of alarm shot through him.
“You... you don’t actually have some kind of backing, do you, kid?” Huangfu Song asked suspiciously.
Li Fan didn’t answer directly, simply offering a faint smile. “I can only do my part. The rest may be up to Senior Huangfu's negotiation efforts.”
This ambiguous reply made Huangfu Song even more uneasy and uncertain.
“If the situation proves workable, I will contact you again shortly. When that time comes, I hope you will lend me your aid.” Li Fan spoke with polite courtesy.
Having said that, he made to leave the room.
Watching Li Fan’s retreating figure, Huangfu Song’s gaze flickered.
After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask, “About Tantai Tao...”
Li Fan’s steps didn’t falter. In an instant, he had vanished from Huangfu Song’s sight.
Only his faint, lingering words remained in the air.
“It was just a joke. If it offends you, Senior, I won’t bring it up again. After all, you have helped me more than once.”
Huangfu Song stared in the direction Li Fan had disappeared, his expression inscrutable.
He snorted coldly and slammed the room door shut with a bang.
***
Li Fan’s expression remained unchanged as he returned to his own quarters.
Li Fan did not know whether the violent deaths of Tantai Tao and the others were truly connected to Huangfu Song.
However, back when Li Fan had first inadvertently used the Tantai Tao incident to tease Huangfu Song, the man’s reaction seemed overly strong.
Li Fan had even faintly sensed a thread of killing intent directed at himself.
Though it was almost imperceptible, Li Fan, who had mastered Formless Killing Mechanism, was extremely sensitive to such intent.
He was almost certain that in that fleeting moment, Huangfu Song had genuinely entertained the thought of killing him.
This piqued Li Fan’s curiosity.
And so, afterward, Li Fan repeatedly used the matter of Tantai Tao’s death to test Huangfu Song’s limits.
To his surprise, whenever Li Fan brought up Tantai Tao, Huangfu Song did indeed become somewhat more... accommodating.
Li Fan gradually received treatment different from that of the other trainees.
Today, with Huangfu Song’s question, it was practically confirmed that he did indeed have some connection to the deaths of Tantai Tao and the others.
It was unlikely he’d done the deed himself—otherwise, he would have been purged long ago.
But he might have done something like leaking information about Tantai Tao and the others.
That was also the reason Huangfu Song was so sensitive to the name “Tantai Tao”; if someone truly decided to investigate him, his cover-up would fail to withstand serious scrutiny.
Although much time had passed and the names of Tantai Tao and the others were nearly forgotten by the vast majority, Li Fan kept bringing it up in front of Huangfu Song every so often.
It really did unsettle the man, keeping him on edge.
Li Fan, of course, understood the principle of knowing when to stop.
Since Huangfu Song had laid his cards on the table today, going forward, it would be impossible to keep feigning ignorance as before.
The message conveyed was equally clear: help me one last time, and from this day onward, I will never mention this matter again.
He had already gleaned enough information from Huangfu Song. Pushing the man too far would only sour things.
Li Fan had no regrets over his decision.